Health and Safety - Intesafety Workplace Safety

Companies and Hostage Rescue Teams (HRTs) that have a strong training and competency culture work safely and don’t “shoot hostages”. The unrelenting pursuit of excellence.

Breaking It Down

Selection = HRTs must have the right DNA. HRTs have some kind of selection process. So too, companies should hire workers who are trainable and able to receive and understand training, whatever it may be. They don’t need to be rocket scientists though, unless you’re designing a rocket of course!!

What needs to be trained = HRTs fully understand what skill sets are required (i.e., shoot straight, blow shit up, gain entry etc. etc.) So too, companies should understand what kind of training is required for the tasks completed and any currency requirements, i.e. your training & competency matrix. Some training will be mandated, like MEWP, cranes, forklift etc. and will have a requirement for currency that must be followed.

Training versus competency = HRTs train and train and train but may not reach a level of competency sometime after training has begun. Just because you are trained does not mean you are competent / safe to complete the task. So too, companies need to understand this and ensure workers are supervised and then assessed as competent by an experienced supervisor for high-risk tasks/machinery. The golden rule for high-risk task training = repetition, repetition, repetition x 100s.

Testing = HRTs test specific skill sets often, probably a bit harder core than a company but the principal remains the same. How often testing is completed depends on the level of risk associated with the specific task/equipment. So too, companies should ensure testing is realistic and based on real work / world conditions. Both theory and practical testing may be appropriate. i.e., to blow shit up safely you’ll probably need to do both …. just saying.

Supervision and mentoring = HRTs have a strong junior and senior leader driven culture that imparts knowledge readily and naturally. A mentor driven approach but one that embraces feedback. So too should companies, where supervisors and middle managers provide ongoing and consistent supervision and mentoring, especially to new workers who may be considered higher risk (young workers) until they are competent, especially for higher risk tasks.

Internal and external self-assessment = the ability to learn is critical. By learning we continually improve the training and competency system and processes within it. Assessing both internally and externally provides validation of how well (or not) we are getting our shit done.

Lessons Learned / Continual Improvement = HRTs always evaluate their performance, even when things go right. Developing a strong lessons learned approach to all areas of the business is not just critical to safety success but also business success. The day you think you know everything and have nothing left to learn is the day you die. No matter how competent in your chosen field you may have become, we can always be better!

Summary

Companies that have a strong training and competency driven culture are inherently safe. A well trained and highly competent workforce is the cornerstone of a safe working organisation.
HRTs never shoot a hostage and there is a reason why. Will your organisation ever shoot a hostage?

We are proud to announce that Intesafety’s Aaron Neighbours and Ken Rees are both HASANZ registered health and safety professionals.

What is the HASANZ Register?

The Health and Safety Association of New Zealand (HASANZ) is the umbrella organisation representing workplace health and safety professions in New Zealand, setting the standard for workplace health and safety services.

The HASANZ Register launched in July 2018, as a free, online, publicly accessible database making it easy for businesses to find reliable, quality health and safety advice and services.

What does ‘HASANZ Registered’ mean?

Being HASANZ Registered is like having a warrant of fitness to practise as a health and safety professional. As a result, businesses can be confident that people on the HASANZ Register have met competency standards required by their professional association.

The robust registration process ensures that only workplace health and safety professionals with proven, relevant knowledge and experience become registered.

As a business looking for a health and safety professional to work with, it provides you with assurance that they meet stringent competency standards in the health and safety profession.

What else should I consider when looking for trusted health and safety professionals?

While anyone listed on the HASANZ Register must meet strict criteria, businesses should continue to undertake their own due diligence before engaging a new advisor or consultant.

Therefore, HASANZ recommend the following ‘Five Quick Questions’ to ensure you find a professional that is right for the job:

Which professional association do you belong to – can you confirm this?
What qualifications and/or certification do you have?
What relevant skills and experience do you have for this job?
Can you give me examples of similar work you have done recently?
Are you happy for us to contact your clients about your work for them?

Find Intesafety Health and Safety Consultants on the HASANZ Register:

View Aaron Neighbours’ profile.

Getting on with the ISO 45001 Transition

Internationally, there have been many attempts to identify the success factors for effective Health and Safety programmes and develop the relative management systems.

New Zealand business has primarily followed the AS/NZS 4801, 4804 and the OHSAS 18001 for measurement, application, and verification of management systems.

But with the withdrawal of the NZS 4801 programme and imminent removal of OHSAS 18001 programme, businesses face a systems verification dilemma.

Since the implementation of the HSW Act 2015, one national key audit process has been developed (the Safe Plus programme) and the internationally recognised ISO 45001 which was developed as an international standard by multiple business and trade unions.

With many common elements to the OHSAS 18001 and AS/NZS 4801 systems, organisations that retain either certification should be in a good position to transition to the ISO 45001 requirements.

Additionally, the base requirements for ISO 14001 (Environmental) and ISO 9001 (Quality) are shared in the system structure which allows business a head start to these additional standards if desired.

WiiFM?

Given the imminent withdrawal of the previous audit standards and subsequent certification, ISO 45001 is the natural heir apparent.

Clients, stakeholders and other PCBU will be looking for a recognised certification to enable the company into an application for tender process or simply as fulfilling their PCBU obligation to ensure engaged PCBU have a measure of competence to undertake works.

For PCBU contractors, they have long known of the labyrinth of pre-qualification requirements from individual clients – some require certification under a specific pre-qualification programme, other PCBU a differing one. This has been a waste of PCBU resourcing that has required duplication of work and productivity loss.

While it cannot be guaranteed that the existing pre-qualification processes will be entirely removed once ISO 45001 certification has been confirmed, initial indicators are that national and local government agencies will be looking for ISO 45001 certification as a pre-requisite for tendering purposes.

What has changed?

Companies that already have either AS/NZS 4801 or 18001 are well placed for ISO 45001 transition.

An integrated H&S, HS&E or HSEQ that is fit for purpose and proportional to the company size and activity is important. The audit standards have additional focus in the following areas:

Our HSEQ Software Platform – InControl

At Intesafety, we’re proud of successfully producing integrated health and safety management systems specific to each business’ risks, that are compliant with the requirements of both AS/NZS 4801 and OHSAS 18001.

We are now developing our processes to include an HSE(Q) option for those companies that require ISO 14001 and 9001 compliant systems.

In association with our partner INX software, we can also provide an integrated HSEQ management software solution that has world leading HSEQ functionality, oversight and performance reporting capabilities.

At Intesafety, we regularly undertake reviews of PCBU Health and Safety Systems and Processes. This isn’t only for compliance purposes, but also as a measure of whether it “fits” the organisation and is relative to their risk profile.

It’s not surprising that while health and safety systems are developed with the resources and maturity of the organisation in mind, they often lack clarity around how it should be implemented – and more importantly, the functional requirements of the system.

In other words – they’re strong on the what is required, but short on the how, who, when and what tools to assist with!

As Safety Consultants (we prefer the term Safety Partners), providing health and safety plans to organisations that have the internal health and safety expertise and resources to develop the required processes is fine.

However, it would not be appropriate to deliver off-the-shelf systems to (in some cases) naive clients and then provide little or no implementation support or guidance.

There isn’t a one-stop shop for a health and safety system.

We recognise that in some cases the client does not wish to expend additional resources on implementation support for their plans. If this is the case, then we should be questioning the purpose of the plan request in the first place.

If Safety Consultants are delivering plans without assisting clients with the application/implementation of the plan requirements, we should be asking: how is this improving the client’s safety programme and management of risk?

A compliant safety management system should be:

Look objectively at your business Health and Safety system and ask:

At Intesafety, we can provide plans enabling organisations to fast track their health and safety system to ISO 45001 standards. Or, we can provide a small business plan enabling smaller PCBUs to effectively communicate, implement, and monitor their safety systems.

We provide ongoing guidance and support at a level requested by the client, but also highlight the drawbacks where a plan or systems application falls short.

Making your Health & Safety Management more user friendly

Intesafety is the New Zealand partner for INX InControl. This scalable HSEQ Management software solution enables you to:

The right health and safety software fits easily and conveniently with your management plan requirements.

What’s Next?

We offer a free initial discussion around your existing systems and can offer assistance with any development and implementation required.

With the right management system in place, you can drive the correct attitudes and behaviours – we’re here to partner with you to achieve that.

As Workplace Safety Partners, we are fortunate to be able to work in different businesses each day and interact with many leaders and workers in the process. We can see their safety maturity at different stages and partner with them on their journey to develop, implement and sustain effective Health and Safety management solutions.

When we look at a business risk profile, many aspects of the business share some common risks. One of these, of course, is the risk of harm to its workers.

Whether they are employees, contractors, volunteers or in other work arrangements such as a shared workplace, people are fundamental to any business success. Our collective objective as business leaders is to ensure we understand the businesses risks and ensure there are effective controls in place to manage risks as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).

To achieve this level of effective risk management, as leaders, we need to self-check ourselves and ask the right questions.

Ask yourself:

There has been plenty of advice floated over the last few years about how to lead workplace safety. Some of this is based on scare tactics and must be confusing for leaders when trying to find their way.

Whether you follow the Safety 1, Safety 2, Safety differently, or the next wave of Safety process, it’s important to ensure you bring your focus to what matters most – your people.

Make sure you are constantly:

We understand that managing and leading workplace safety can appear to be difficult. As your partner, our mission is to support you with workable solutions, coach your leaders and ensure effective management systems.

What’s Next?

We support your leaders and H&S professionals to become true ‘Safety Champions’ with our Workplace Health & Safety Management Leadership Mentoring and Coaching.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have new aviation Safety Management System (SMS) rules soon to be formally implemented (Part 100 Safety Management), which may mean a bit of change for many operators in the aviation industry.

To meet these requirements necessitates a good practice SMS approach. Aviation businesses must have a well-defined and functioning set of company-wide systems and processes as part of their standard framework. This provides for effective, risk-based decision making that improves the overall safety of the business.

It needs to be well documented, communicated to relevant parties, and be actively maintained. This allows for maximised opportunity to continuously improve the overall SMS and its operational application.

Common requirements within an SMS include systems and processes for:

Along with meeting good practice requirements, the scope and complexity of the SMS must be developed or scaled to suit the risk profile and size of the business. Simply complying with legislative requirements may not be enough to manage the specific risks involved in your business.

For this reason, Intesafety always scopes out the business risks using a broad-brush risk assessment which then underpins the development of the tailored SMS.

For many operators in the aviation industry, implementing a SMS may not be a new initiative.

The aviation industry has always had a strong quality management system focus and has had a good level of regulatory oversight. While many operators will do some of these SMS functional requirements already, this new change represents a good opportunity to have a re-think about existing SMS and potentially develop and integrate systems further.

SMS is great for the business

Overall, aviation operators with a good functioning SMS will know it is great for their business.

From many years of experience working in the Australian aviation industry, we know that a good functioning SMS:

In addition to keeping your workers and customers safe, it also creates a lot of efficiencies for the business. You do things smarter, often quicker, and there is less risk of damage to equipment. And of course, workers having the right mindsets and attitudes also reflects a good safety culture.

What do I need to do?

For aviation businesses, these new rules may mean a step change in maturity is required. You will have to further develop your SMS and workers’ understanding of these new requirements. During this process you must ensure you have committed leadership, good practice systems, worker participation and communication to ensure your SMS is easy to use.

At Intesafety we can partner with you on this journey. Our experienced partners have been through this process many times with a range of different businesses and understand what the journey involves for aviation providers.

We can help manage your data by being smarter with centralisation, so you can easily provide oversight and look for ‘hot spots’ or emerging trends in the business. To achieve this, we have partnered with an INX software HSQ solution called InControl – which is configured specially for the aviation industry.

You can benefit from our experience and we can help shape the correct mindset and understanding for your leaders and workers. We develop workable systems in line with good practice and through our software partner INX, make your SMS add real value to your business.

Written by Aaron Neighbours, Intesafety General Manager and Principal Health & Safety Partner

Sound Health and Safety Systems

How to maintain a compliant health and safety system while tailoring for individual client needs?

Here at Intesafety, we believe that having an effective health and safety system positively influences organisational performance. We base our systems on the OHSAS 18001 format and tailor these elements to suit the organisation size, activities, and associated risk profile.

The health and safety system documents set out the expectations for the management of health and safety. By working with a common system across all its operations, we achieve a standardised and consistent approach between the operating activities.

Each element of the system documentation links to the specific section of the Company Health and Safety Management System (HSMS) Plan – Do – Check – Act (PDCA) continual improvement cycle.

For each of these elements, a section is detailed within the main Health and Safety Management Plan to outline the objectives and key requirements as to how this will be achieved.

What is the PDCA continual improvement cycle?

Stage 1: ‘Plan’

The ‘Plan’ stage is directed at establishing a platform describing how we will establish our systems meeting legal and stakeholder requirements. To ensure this occurs, we also assign responsibilities during the ‘Plan’ stage.

Stage 2: ‘Do’

‘Do’ is the operational control platform. It details our risk management responsibilities along with specific guidance for operation issues and contractor management.

Stage 3: ‘Check’

‘Check’ details the measurement requirements to ensure that the HSMS is operating as intended. This allows routine review and an opportunity to address any non-conformant or undesired trending.

Stage 4: ‘Act’

The ‘Act’ stage is the systems sense check and review platform. It requires the organisation to review its application of the HSMS and build improvements into short and long-term planning.

This process enables Intesafety to maintain a compliant system while tailoring bespoke health and safety plans to meet our client needs.

Good Practice Safety Management

Do businesses really understand the benefits of good practice health and safety management in the workplace?

At Intesafety, we have the privilege of representing and supporting many businesses daily as their partner in workplace safety management.

We are very fortunate that we get to learn about the different types of businesses we operate in, the many risks involved, engage with its workers and coach its leaders. But most of all, we get to work together and overlay our safety management expertise in a way that fits our clients’ business – so it can reach its primary goals: keep people safe, ensure the business is viable and set out to deliver what’s it’s there to achieve.

It’s pleasing that many businesses we work with see workplace safety as more than just a compliance risk. They have moved beyond this ‘compliance culture’ and instead see it as a way of life – it’s just the way we do business.

After all, what is greater than protecting and caring for your workers and others who could be impacted from the business’s activities?

However, in our collective experience as Health and Safety Management professionals we have certainly seen our fair share of leaders and workers who don’t value safety. We believe in it being our duty to intervene here and set the record straight as to why it is so important.

How many workplaces really understand what safety management is?

Do they understand how it can be not just the law – but it can be the greatest aspect for their business?

The development of safe systems of work and a proactive safety culture provide benefits for the worker and employer alike. A poor culture can lead to weaknesses in the system and behaviours of staff – possibly because of poor training or communication – and an increase in injury rates.

When you manage risk and get your Health and Safety culture into a mature and proactive space, this then leads to better quality, cost savings and an enhanced reputation – does it not?

Our aim is to be your leader and support partner in workplace safety. We want to work together to deliver workable health and safety solutions to make your business great.

Call us today so we can discuss your challenges and develop a strategy to achieve your goals.

Written by Aaron Neighbours, Intesafety Principal Health and Safety Partner and General Manager

What is an effective health and safety management system?

It is important to be mindful that every business is different. A good practice health and safety management system may have many different elements, each interlinked to achieve the business objectives for workplace safety. There is no one stop off-the-shelf package.

Firstly, we take the time to understand your business and your risks. We review your existing health and safety systems and processes against good practice and industry standards.

We look at a combination of both the systems and people elements, i.e. how informed are your workers, are your leaders walking the talk, are you monitoring the workplace, etc.

When we’ve completed this assessment, we can measure where your maturity in workplace systems and culture sit. This helps to develop standards, shape the strategy, and then tailor health and safety solutions that fit your business – to ensure it’s usable.

Elements of a Health and Safety Management System

Typical elements may include any or all of the following, depending of the size and complexity of your business:

These are all important elements of typical health and safety management systems.

However, without buy in from workers, they can often fail. Effective leadership is essential – ownership from the top down, an understanding of requirements by all workers, including contractors and other stakeholders involved in your activities.

Further flaws in workplace safety can be the failure to implement systems and workers not following company requirements – i.e. their practices and behaviours are not aligned to where they should be.

How do you monitor these aspects of your business? Is your existing system fit for purpose?

Now What?

We welcome the opportunity to discuss how your business operates and advise on what you need to do, to ensure you are taking all reasonably practicable steps in relation to workplace health and safety management.

Give us a call today – let’s think safe, work safe and ensure everyone goes home safe.

Written by Aaron Neighbours, Intesafety Principal Health & Safety Partner and General Manager

Never Shoot a Hostage

Breaking It Down

Summary

What is the HASANZ Register?

What does ‘HASANZ Registered’ mean?

What else should I consider when looking for trusted health and safety professionals?

Find Intesafety Health and Safety Consultants on the HASANZ Register:

Getting on with the ISO 45001 Transition

WiiFM?

What has changed?

Our HSEQ Software Platform – InControl

There isn’t a one-stop shop for a health and safety system.

A compliant safety management system should be:

Look objectively at your business Health and Safety system and ask:

Making your Health & Safety Management more user friendly

What’s Next?

Ask yourself:

Make sure you are constantly:

What’s Next?

Common requirements within an SMS include systems and processes for:

For many operators in the aviation industry, implementing a SMS may not be a new initiative.

SMS is great for the business

What do I need to do?

Sound Health and Safety Systems

How to maintain a compliant health and safety system while tailoring for individual client needs?

What is the PDCA continual improvement cycle?

Stage 1: ‘Plan’

Stage 2: ‘Do’

Stage 3: ‘Check’

Stage 4: ‘Act’

Good Practice Safety Management

Do businesses really understand the benefits of good practice health and safety management in the workplace?

How many workplaces really understand what safety management is?

What is an effective health and safety management system?

Elements of a Health and Safety Management System

Now What?